My Fiver on WVU's loss at Houston Saturday afternoon...
*Disclaimer>>> I turned it off after the Houston hoop & foul by Kriisa put Houston up 23-10. I've seen enough to know what was coming. So, I'll keep this brief.
1. It was evident from the jump that we were not prepared to face Houston's aggressive defense, and we also were not prepared to defend them either. I mean, how in God's name do you leave LJ Cryer wide open for a step-in three-point shot on multiple occasions? How is that humanly possible?
2. We have individual talent on this roster. But, we do not have a good team. I don't want to put this all on Eilert & staff....they've been put in a terrible situation. In a way, I feel for them. That said, they are not putting the individual talent in any sort of position to compete with a team like Houston. Other coaches could. This staff cannot.
3. We finished +2 on the offensive glass, and a mere -6 in Rebound margin. As good as Houston is defensively, they only forced 12 TOs. So, we didn't get blown out by being killed on the glass and by turning the ball over continuously. Instead, we got blown out because (a) We can't guard a team of this talent - Houston goes 34/64 from the field overall (53%) and 9/18 from "3" (50%). They were getting whatever they wanted, at least from what I saw; and, (b) Our offense really has no flow and does not afford opportunities for open looks. And, when Slazinski had a couple open looks, he missed them.
4. In a way, I think Raquon Battle needed a game like this, to be humbled a bit after coming out and scoring at will. Welcome to the Big 12. He'll need to realize that he needs to lean on teammates a bit more to open up scoring opportunities, and he needs to be a bit stronger with the ball.
5. Reading some stuff on the Blue Lot after the beatdown, I do not agree with the overall sentiment that this season's Huggs-booze-driven implosion has set us back years. With the way collegiate semipro athletics changes year-to-year now, with the right coaching hire, we could turn this around in a year. I think Ben McCollum could come here and provide our fanbase with a team worthy of our pride within a year or two. Ditto Pat Kelsey. I think Niko Medved is an intriguing candidate as well. We're going to have options. And sometimes, the fan favorite (Chris Beard - not happening) isn't "the guy". If we hire McCollum, some may groan. But, in the end, I think his basketball pedigree will win fans over, and win fans over quickly once the "W's" start piling up.
*Disclaimer>>> I turned it off after the Houston hoop & foul by Kriisa put Houston up 23-10. I've seen enough to know what was coming. So, I'll keep this brief.
1. It was evident from the jump that we were not prepared to face Houston's aggressive defense, and we also were not prepared to defend them either. I mean, how in God's name do you leave LJ Cryer wide open for a step-in three-point shot on multiple occasions? How is that humanly possible?
2. We have individual talent on this roster. But, we do not have a good team. I don't want to put this all on Eilert & staff....they've been put in a terrible situation. In a way, I feel for them. That said, they are not putting the individual talent in any sort of position to compete with a team like Houston. Other coaches could. This staff cannot.
3. We finished +2 on the offensive glass, and a mere -6 in Rebound margin. As good as Houston is defensively, they only forced 12 TOs. So, we didn't get blown out by being killed on the glass and by turning the ball over continuously. Instead, we got blown out because (a) We can't guard a team of this talent - Houston goes 34/64 from the field overall (53%) and 9/18 from "3" (50%). They were getting whatever they wanted, at least from what I saw; and, (b) Our offense really has no flow and does not afford opportunities for open looks. And, when Slazinski had a couple open looks, he missed them.
4. In a way, I think Raquon Battle needed a game like this, to be humbled a bit after coming out and scoring at will. Welcome to the Big 12. He'll need to realize that he needs to lean on teammates a bit more to open up scoring opportunities, and he needs to be a bit stronger with the ball.
5. Reading some stuff on the Blue Lot after the beatdown, I do not agree with the overall sentiment that this season's Huggs-booze-driven implosion has set us back years. With the way collegiate semipro athletics changes year-to-year now, with the right coaching hire, we could turn this around in a year. I think Ben McCollum could come here and provide our fanbase with a team worthy of our pride within a year or two. Ditto Pat Kelsey. I think Niko Medved is an intriguing candidate as well. We're going to have options. And sometimes, the fan favorite (Chris Beard - not happening) isn't "the guy". If we hire McCollum, some may groan. But, in the end, I think his basketball pedigree will win fans over, and win fans over quickly once the "W's" start piling up.
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